While fans await Bioware to reveal the new title for the upcoming fourth installment of theMass Effectseries, the franchise’s original director and producer took a look back at some of the names that the game could have ended up being called before the developer decided to call it Mass Effect. After going through his inbox archive, Bioware’s Casey Hudson shared on May 22 that the series had several early concept titles.

In a time when Bioware’s new science fiction project had yet to be known as Mass Effect, Hudson revealed that the game went through a number of different potential titles. Fans could have easily known the Mass Effect series of today as Fractured Helix, Star Citadel, or The Oculon as these were all suggested names for the franchise at one point. However, Hudson admitted that he hated all the early title suggestions for the game. Ultimately, he revealed that after the name Mass Effect was brought up that he decided to go with it simply because he didn’t hate it.

After the first Mass Effect, Bioware didn’t have to worry about coming up with additional titles since the next two installments were simply named Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3. In order to distinguish the next entry from the original trilogy, however, the developer has stated that the fourth game won’t be titled Mass Effect 4. The next game, currently in development, will introduce a new protagonist to the series as Commander Shepard’s story has now concluded. As such, the new project will have a new name to signify the start of a new narrative with a new lead.

No other details are currently known about the fourth Mass Effect title. Bioware refuses to announce an expected release window or even discuss what platforms the game is being created on.

Update: Taking a look back at the early days of Mass Effect development once again, Casey Hudson posted a tweet to fans on Friday to share some audio tracks that the producer of Bioware's popular science fiction franchise says reminds him of the beginning stages of production of the Mass Effect series. While the franchise moved away from these electronica sounds, fans will surely hear the similarities that Hudson points out.

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David is a video gaming expert. After running a successful gaming website and playing games for over 20 years, he's here to keep you updated all console news. He is an artist by trade and appreciates art in all media, especially games.